Anyway
by Sunset Miko
Summary: Inuyasha finally finds a way to admit his feelings, even if it is a tad too late. Songfic written to 'Anyway' by Wheatus.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha & co. belong to the illustrious Rumiko Takahashi. I do not profit financially from these fics. I also don't own the song Anyway by Wheatus. **

_Note: This song has been demanding I write a fic for it since the first time I heard it and it finally won. This would be the second songfic I've written to a Wheatus song and I can say with some certainty that it won't be the last. So many of their songs speak to me and I would really recommend listening to them all. This one came from their album 'Suck Fony' and if you've never heard it go find it to listen to while reading this. I've had the song on loop since I started writing. It's played more than 30 times and I'm still not tired of it. I suppose this one has the possibility of a sequel, complete with lemony goodness, if an idea that works with this comes to me, but right now it can be considered complete. _

-

"I can't do this man. I just can't."

Miroku frowned at his friend. "I thought you wanted her back, Inu. She's out there! Sango and I didn't have an easy time of it, let me tell you. God, he's a huge ass! You can't let him have her. You have to show her. You have to prove to her you care, that you are willing to put yourself out there for her. I told you a long time ago…"

"Yes, Miroku, I know! If I had listened to you then none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have dumped me. She wouldn't be dating that prick. She would know I… know that I…"

"Love her? Inuyasha, the words are **not** that difficult to say."

"Why am I even bothering?" The hanyou grumbled loudly while pacing back and forth behind the heavy curtain. "She doesn't want me! I'm not good enough for her anyway. I could never give her what she deserves. He can."

Miroku rolled his eyes. "She doesn't like him, Inu, I can promise you that. She's sitting out there wishing he was you, even with all your faults. She loves you. She's always loved you and she always will love you. You just have to let her see that you feel the same way. You can do this. You have to do this or you will spend the rest of your life regretting it."

Inuyasha nodded. "You're right. I have to do this."

-

"Why are we in this dump, babe?" Hiten asked the girl sitting beside him in a disgusted tone. "There are so many nice places I could take you and this is where you want to go?"

Kagome rolled her eyes behind closed lids. Why was she here again? "Sango and Miroku wanted me to come. It's not that bad. I like it here." God, this guy was such a pretentious, condescending dick! What in the hell was she thinking going out with him? She had to fight back a sigh. She missed him. She missed him so much, but she had to do it. She couldn't tag along after him like a lovesick puppy forever. If he didn't want her, if he didn't love her, then she had to move on. It had been the hardest thing she'd ever done in her whole life, walking away from her best friend, from the man she loved.

Sango hid her scowl behind her drink. She hated Kagome's new boyfriend and she knew Kagome wasn't happy with him, but she couldn't tell her to go back to Inuyasha, not if he couldn't give her what she needed. She'd watched her friend get her heart broken over and over again and even though she knew he loved Kagome, because Miroku told her everything the hanyou told him, Kagome didn't know. Why did Inuyasha have to be so damn stubborn? Why couldn't he just say the words she needed to hear? He meant them! Why couldn't he manage to get them out of his head for her?

'This had better work,' she thought to herself while staring at the empty stage. Miroku should have come out by now. 'The bastard's getting cold feet! I swear to God of he doesn't get over it and get out here I'm going to beat him to death with his own shoe!' The curtain rustled and Sango perked up, just waiting for her boyfriend to come out and announce Kagome's surprise.

-

It was taking everything he had not to throw up all over backstage. What the hell made him think that he could do this if he couldn't manage to say the words when it was just the two of them? True, he'd written it, but he'd never intended for her to hear it. It was more therapeutic, getting his feelings out before they smothered him. Miroku had somehow come across it though and now here he was, waiting to humiliate himself in front of probably a hundred people in hopes that she would listen, that she would hear the honesty in it, and that she could find the hidden message he still couldn't manage to send otherwise.

-

Sango and Kagome clapped with the crowd as Miroku stepped out on stage, while Hiten merely rolled his eyes, annoyed that she was making him waste his time in such a pathetic little bar when he could be fucking her senseless in his penthouse. He wouldn't even be there if he wasn't still waiting for her to put out. He'd put a lot of work into this. It took months to plant that little seed of insecurity in her and help it grow. He showed her the attention he knew the half-breed never gave her. He would drop hints about how she deserved better, how she should be with someone who really 'loved' her.

He fought back a smirk. Yeah, like he loved her. He just wanted to get her into his bed and in doing so finally put the hanyou in his place. All the time the two had been together, or as together as they got at least, Hiten knew that Kagome and Inuyasha had never gotten past a few kisses here and there and he couldn't wait to rub it in his face when he stole her virginity right out from under the half-breed. The fool could have had it years ago if he wasn't such a pussy. Now it would be his.

Kagome elbowed him gently, frustrated by just how rude he was being, not even bothering to look at her friend on the stage. He turned and smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. She was absolutely starved for attention and it was just too easy to have her eating out of his palm.

-

When the applause stopped Miroku gave the crowd a few playful bows before grabbing the microphone. "Alright! Sorry for the delay guys. Had a little problem that needed taking care of, but I'm here now and we can get on with it!" The crowd cheered and Sango whistled loudly. "Ah, my dear Sango, I do so love it when you're in the audience." He waved in her general direction, barely able to see her in the dark room through the spotlights aimed at him, before continuing.

"I've got something special for you guys tonight. You know Miroku always provides!" Again the crowd erupted in cheers and applause and he gave an exaggerated bow. "This song was written by a good friend of mine for someone very important and this is the first time it will ever be heard by anyone but me! Who loves you, baby?! He's had a crappy last few weeks and he's feeling a little shy, so be nice to the guy… for me, okay?"

-

Kagome turned and gave Sango a questioning look, thoroughly confused as to who Miroku could be talking about. Who did they know that wrote songs, let alone performed them? She watched as Sango mouthed 'Just watch,' at her before pointing to the stage. Miroku waved again and then walked back through the curtain. Music started to play and Kagome focused fully on the stage, ignoring the male trying to keep her attention on him. No one was visible, but when the first few words filled the room her heart sped up and goose bumps covered her arms. She knew that voice all too well.

-

Miroku had managed to find a way to help him get started despite his nervousness and when his music started playing he took the microphone his friend was holding out to him and closed his eyes tightly. If he started singing before he saw her then maybe he could do it. He knew she was out there with the prick, but Miroku was so sure that she wasn't happy, so sure she missed him that he had to try. He couldn't go on the way things were now. He needed her. He needed her more than he needed anything else, more than air, more than water. He needed her in his life because without her it was nothing… he was nothing. He couldn't live without her. He loved her too much and losing her was just the kick in the ass he needed to find a way to finally tell her.

His cue was approaching and he took a deep breath, seeing her beautiful smiling face in his mind, and Inuyasha started to sing.

"**I pretend I can't hang up the phone  
cuz if I do then he gets you  
and I'll be in this room alone  
staring at the carpet  
wondering how they made it."**

He pushed his way through the curtain and out into the bright light on stage. He couldn't see her but he knew right where she was sitting and he hoped she would understand his words. He couldn't afford for her not to.

**"And you would say I should not be afraid.  
I'm better off alone and free  
cuz no one can put up with me.  
And your mom don't like me either  
Now I don't have to meet her."**

Kagome's breath caught in her throat as she saw him, ignoring when Hiten cursed beside her. What the hell was Inuyasha doing? He wrote a song? He was singing a song… in front of people?! Her heart fell into her stomach as she remembered Miroku's words. He'd written the song for someone important. Why was she here? She didn't need to see this. She didn't need to know that he could so easily show his feelings for someone else when he'd never been able to do it for her.

**"You and me,  
We end up in catastrophe  
But I have got one more thing to add."**

Inuyasha turned to focus on her, squinting in an attempt to see her, needing to know if she was listening. The look on her face made his stomach twist in knots. She looked like she was going to cry, and not the happy cry thing she did that drove him crazy. She looked like someone had just ripped her heart out and stomped on it. He knew. He knew that look because he'd seen it before. She'd looked just the same way when she told him she couldn't wait for him any longer right before she turned around and walked away.

**"OK so I'm a jerk  
And I'm a weirdo  
And even if I'm lucky I'll amount to zero  
But I thought that you'd love me anyway."**

A single tear slipped down her cheek as she watched him sing. It looked like he was looking right at her but she just couldn't believe that. Years… She'd waited years for him to look at her like that, but he never had. She had to be behind her, the new girl in his life, the one who mattered so much he could stand there and sing words that were coming right from his heart. Whoever she was, she was a very lucky girl.

**"I'm so not even worth it  
But baby no one's perfect.  
Yeah, I thought that you'd love me anyway,  
Anyway"**

He couldn't take it anymore and he wanted to kiss Miroku for giving him a cordless mic as he hopped off the stage to the floor, slowly winding his way around packed tables towards the only member of the audience that mattered. He didn't know if Hiten would try to get in his way but he didn't care. Kagome was his and he was going to get her back, whether the prick liked it or not.

**"You're not the type of girl who takes advice  
Still all that shit your parents said  
Still bouncing round inside your head.**

'**You two will never make it.  
If you build it he will break it.'"**

Well, she would know soon who'd stolen his heart from her. No, that wasn't right. No one could steal from her what she'd never had in the first place. Seeing him, hearing his voice again, it hurt more than she had ever imagined possible. She'd tried to stop loving him, but then she'd been trying that for years and had yet to succeed. Kagome knew she would always love him. He would always have her heart, even though he didn't want it.

**"You and me,  
They sum us up so poignantly  
But I have got one more thing to add."**

Inuyasha was just two tables away when Hiten stood, locking eyes with him in challenge. The hanyou was ready to fight if he had to, but damn it, he wanted to finish the song first! He was both surprised and relieved when familiar faces appeared behind the demon. Kouga grabbed Hiten's arms and held him still while Miroku slapped a sutra on his forehead, locking him in place. Inuyasha smirked as they dragged the incapacitated demon away, giving Hiten a little taunting wave, seeing the rage in his eyes before returning his focus to her. She hadn't tried to stop them. She hadn't protested. Kagome hadn't even blinked as her so called 'new boyfriend' was taken away by force. In fact, her eyes had never left his. Maybe Miroku really was right.

**"OK so I'm a jerk  
And I'm a weirdo  
And even if I'm lucky I'll amount to zero  
But I thought that you'd love me anyway."**

He wasn't walking past. He'd stopped right beside her table and was staring into her eyes. Was it possible? Had he changed his mind? He certainly looked like he had something to say and she could see the love in his eyes… love directed at her. He really was looking at _her_ like that. She could hardly breathe as she watched him, as she listened to the words he'd written just for her.

**"I'm so not even worth it  
But baby no one's perfect.  
Yeah, I thought that you'd love me anyway,  
Anyway"**

Inuyasha moved the chair the prick had been sitting in and slowly dropped to his knees beside her. He could see the tears shimmering in her eyes and the salty trails down her cheeks and he wished he could punch himself right in the face. If anyone else had hurt her like this he would have killed them with his bare hands and yet he'd allowed himself to break her heart all because he was afraid. He had always prided himself on how well he protected her but he'd failed to protect her from himself.

**"Maybe you'll never play the guitar  
Maybe you'll never sing in harmony with me  
Maybe you can't rock the ac/dc  
Well hell still ain't a bad place to be if you're with me  
Anyway"  
**

Kagome couldn't move as his free hand reached towards her, his thumb brushing away tears she hadn't even noticed were falling. As she studied his face she saw the light reflect off a shiny spot and she realized that he was crying too. He smiled as her hand touched his cheek and he leaned into her touch. He'd missed her over the last few weeks but until that moment, until he felt her soft caress, he had no idea just how much.

**"OK so I'm a jerk  
And I'm a weirdo  
And even if I'm lucky I'll amount to zero  
But I thought that you'd love me anyway."**

It was almost time and he finally knew he was ready. He could do it. He could say it. He had to because if he didn't get it out he would explode. Never before had he needed to say something so badly, so much so that holding it in actually physically hurt. The words were there now and so was she. She was waiting. She was still waiting for him even though she'd said that she was done waiting. Kagome was still waiting to hear what he'd always wished he could say and finally she would.

**"I'm so not even worth it  
But baby no one's perfect.  
Yeah, I thought that you'd love me anyway...  
Anyway"**

Kagome smiled at him, waiting for the song to be over, hoping it was soon. It was beautiful, but his lips needed to stop moving so she could kiss him!

**"And the end goes like this…"**

The music faded out and he dropped the microphone to the floor beside him, gently taking both of her hands in his. The crowded room was completely silent as everyone waited to see how the show would end. "Kagome?" he nearly whispered, his voice cracking nervously. When her smile widened he relaxed and finally said it. "Kagome, I love you."

-

The cheers and applause that had started the second his lips met hers continued as he gathered her up in his arms and carried her towards the exit. Miroku took the mic from Sango and raised his arms in the air high above his head for a minute as he walked back to the stage. "He finally did it!" he said with a brilliant smile on his face as the crowd clapped and those among them who knew the two laughed in both happiness and relief. It was and had always been obvious that they were meant to be together. They were just waiting for Inuyasha to work up the nerve to say it. "Okay, now that the 'Awww' moment is over for the night, let's party!"

-

Sitting on the roof of the club, Inuyasha kissed Kagome again, unable to get enough of her. When she finally pulled him back by his hair he looked into her bright, happy eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot and an asshole and a fucking chicken shit and I'm sorry. I was afraid. I've always loved you but I was too scared to say it. I love you Kagome, and I'm sorry."

"That's alright," Kagome said with a grin. "I love you anyway."


End file.
